Have Your Personal Trainer Teach You These Lifestyle Changes

When you get a gym membership and partner up with a personal trainer with the intention of improving your fitness, it's not just about your gym workouts. While your trainer will indeed guide you through cardiovascular exercises and strength training that will help you burn fat, build muscle, and create a healthier body, he or she should also be talking to you about lifestyle changes that you can make on your own. The reality is that you'll be spending the vast majority of your time away from the gym, so you need to ensure that your behavior when you're not working out is in your best interest. Here are some lifestyle changes to ask your personal trainer about.

Incorporating More Movement

Many people have sedentary lifestyles, and while it's ideal to work out at the gym for an hour a few times a week, you still need to address the large stretches of time in which you aren't moving. Personal trainers are adept at providing you with suggestions for incorporating more movement into your day, so make sure to describe a typical day and see what your trainer has in mind. These suggestions could include getting a small pedal machine or stepper to place below your desk at work, doing calisthenics while you watch TV in the evening, or getting pacing your office floor when you're on the phone.

Finding Strategies For Food Cravings

While exercise can help to transform your body, succumbing to cravings for unhealthy foods can have the opposite effect. Some people struggle with food cravings, but it's ideal to turn to a personal trainer for advice. These health professionals know that cravings can be strong, but can offer you some tips on dealing with this situation. For example, your trainer might advocate a few minutes of vigorous jumping jacks, following by a large glass of water, when you're craving something sweet. The activity and the refreshing water can be enough to make the craving go away.

Using Rewards

Many people take the wrong approach to rewarding themselves. For example, you might feel that because you've gone for a long bike ride or had an up-tempo gym workout, you've earned pizza, chicken wings, and beer. While cheat foods are OK from time to time, this shouldn't be the norm. Talk to your personal trainer about how to set up a healthy rewards system for celebrating your success. For example, he or she might advocate buying some new clothing when you drop a size.

For more advice on how to make lifestyle changes to accompany your new workout routine, talk to personal training facilities like Brass Performance.